Raw footage from the 1981 documentary "Rostenkowski," a portrait of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, a powerful figure in Chicago (and national) politics. In this tape, Rostenkowski is on a United Airlines flight to Chicago. The plane lands, and Rostenkowski is greeted at the airport by a throng of reporters eager to question him about his new position as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

00:00Copy video clip URL Tape begins with a black screen. Audio is still coming through but is a little choppy. Rostenkowski is telling Weinberg and crew a story about a trip to a cocktail party.

02:00Copy video clip URL Tape comes back in with a shot of Rostenkowski dozing a bit. Blumberg gets a shot of the landing from inside of the plane.

03:15Copy video clip URL Rostenkowski and crew joke and make small talk as they wait to get off of the plane. Once passengers begin filing out, the Congressman puts on his coat and walks out of the airplane. Immediately after walking off of the plane, Rostenkowski is greeted by a barrage of reporters hoping to get a few comments from him about his recent elevation to the Chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.

05:38Copy video clip URL The first question posed to Rostenkowski is why he chose to go with the Chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee rather than the Whip position. “Well, I felt that maybe the economic issues in this country for the next four years will be the important activities and that I think I could make a big contribution there.” Rostenkowski goes on to state, “The economics of this country is going to be where the action is. If we’re going to try to solve the problems of inflation I hope that we can do that through the Ways and Means Committee and through my participation.” With his travel bag in hand, Rostenkowski continues to answer a few more questions before leaving. The crew continues taping the press as they finish gathering up all of the information that they need.

09:29Copy video clip URL Tape ends.

Main Credits

produced and directed by Tom Weinberg ; with Skip Blumberg, Judy Shoemaker, and Elon Soltes